


Guts

by npc_113



Category: The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: Crying, Drabble, Gen, Hopeful Ending, Hurt No Comfort, I guess you could see it as frank/billy, Mild Blood, Sorta kinda, Wordcount: 100-1.000, mentioned child death, thats how I intended to write it but ig it didn’t read like that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:14:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26304724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/npc_113/pseuds/npc_113
Summary: Alternate ending for season 2 because I didn’t like how Billy was treated.
Relationships: Frank Castle & Billy Russo
Kudos: 4





	Guts

“I’m sorry.”

That. That’s all it takes, and Frank’s gun clatters to the floor. 

“Don’t do this to me, Billy.”

“I’m so, so sorry.” Billy’s voice is choked as he speaks, tears falling and face twisted in pain and regret. There’s nothing more to say. Frank wishes that’s the case. “For what I did. I wouldn’t—“

“Shut up,” Frank whispers but Billy doesn’t hear or doesn’t care and continues. 

“I wouldn’t have done that. Not me, no.”

“Shut up!” Frank’s shouting now, but Billy only laughs, congested nose dripping and mixing with the blood. 

“What happened to us, Frankie?” He chokes, and Frank squeezes his fists to the sides of his face. 

“Shut up! Shut up!” 

“Frankie, we can’t keep doing this!”

“I know!”

There’s prickling in the back of Franks eyes and he hates himself for them. For having tears for this monster, and he tells himself they’re not for Billy but it’s a lie. They are for him, because Billy is already dead. The thing crying in front of him, mouth open to gulp the sobs down, it’s some crude image that God carved out of the real Billy, and Frank hates God. 

He hates what made Billy into this jaded image of his best friend, of the one person he trusted and of the man he loved as much as he loved his own wife. 

He doesn’t know how long they stay like that. Billy bleeding out and Frank squeezing his head between his fists but it’s long enough for him to hear the sirens approaching the house. Curtis must have called the police, must have expected him to be gone now. 

Billy’s quiet, now. No more sobs or mumbled apologies, just the gutted sound of someone fighting for every breath as he lays with closed eyes. Alive, but not awake. 

Not alive. Billy is already dead. He’s been dead.

He hates himself because Billy is already dead. Maria is dead. His children are dead. Everyone he loves is dead and he can’t bring himself to kill the one who killed them all. 

The sirens are getting closer. 

Frank leaves. 

**Author's Note:**

> This is a short one, I know. It's been taking up space in my notes app for years now. I was going to make it a series with Frank and Billy running into each other over and over again until eventually they see each other at a bar and just... talk. Never ended up doing that, though, so I thought I might as well just post it. I may eventually make it into a series, but don't get your hopes up.
> 
> Title from the song [Guts by Aidan Alexander](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSKlCWwWOcg)
> 
> You can follow my main Tumblr [here](https://npc-113.tumblr.com/) and my writing Tumblr [here](https://npc-113-writes.tumblr.com/) :)


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